Today is our first Monday in Beijing! I love Mondays…today is a holiday. Not really sure what holiday, but everyone seems to have the week off. We are still in the ‘getting settled’ mode for sure, and we probably will be for awhile. I am finding that I wish I would have packed different things in the container vs. what we brought on the plane. But we just didn’t know! I had a harsh realization Saturday night…kylee and I went to the grocery store here near by: jenny lou’s. it’s a ‘western’ grocery store and they carry all kinds of stuff just like we can get at home. Kylee and I kind of wandered around scoping out what was available, and then I started to try to plan some meals in my head so I could buy stuff to get us through a few days. It was then that I realized that I don’t know how to cook. I mean, I can heat stuff up! I can put together boxed meals, add chicken or fresh veggies, I can open a bottle of spaghetti sauce and brown some ground beef… but I realized… that isn’t going to work here. I am going to have to cook…like from scratch. I stood in the store frantically trying to remember ingredients to recipes that surely I could make, or had made at some point that didn’t include starting with something pre-made or pre-prepared. i did pack a bunch of cookbooks in the container…and I do have my favorite choc. Chip cookie recipe memorized, but that won’t help us much! We settled on stuff to make stir-fry, and we found a packet of Swedish meatball seasons that we thought would work… so I have my work cut out for me there. I think I better teach my kids a thing or two as I learn…since it’s obviously an important life skill!
Sunday morning we were ON TIME FOR CHURCH! This is a huge accomplishment for the Swapp family. In this case, it helped that we had been up since 3am. We even had a delicious French toast breakfast courtesy of Kylee (we found vanilla and cinnamon at the store the night before). Our van was going to be delivered to the church since it is closer to downtown, and all this week is a holiday. So we had to take 2 taxi’s to get to church. The branch meets in a highrise building about a 20 minute taxi ride from where we live.

Going to church was so awesome! The branch is full of families- there are tons of kids and everyone was so welcoming and happy to have us! I believe they said there are around 90 kids in the primary. 15 or so young women. I think I was even told there are 14 8 year old boys… so cory hit the jackpot for friends! There are even a couple 6 year old girls. Perfect! It was kind of funny- during Sacrament meeting, we were sitting by the windows on one side of the building and there was all this noise outside, and we are quite a ways up…Colton peeked out the blinds to find a guy there washing the windows! LOL. It totally freaked him out! There is tremendous comfort and peace to be able to meet and worship with others that believe the way you do…and I love that the church is the same no matter when and where you are! What an amazing blessing! The individuals in the branch are from all over the world, and have lived all over the world. I look forward to getting to know these people better. And what an awesome resource…I was able to get lots of questions answered and concerns dispelled. We were invited to dinner with a family that have been over here for 12 years… we loved talking to them, learning from them and enjoying making new friends. It all added to helping us feel more comfortable and peaceful in being here. –so our JINBEI van was in fact delivered to Eric after church. The kids’ and I (minus Colton) went w/ the Toronto’s to their home, and eric would be coming along with the van. I guess that when they dropped off the van, there was no gas and apparently no oil included. So eric and colton had a bit of an adventure getting that worked out…but eric is so pumped about the van! It’s a Chinese van, and we were informed that there are some ‘cultural discriminations’ associated with JINBEI- as they are ‘work’ vans… but pretty much it was the most cost-effective way to get 8 passengers anywhere! And I think that when we pile out of it, it will be clear that we’re not exactly Chinese workmen.
Ok… well, it’s a new day. Time to get some laundry done. We have a washer and dryer here…it’s just really small, so we’ll have to do laundry probably every day. We got our internet all set up and it seems to be working as well, so that is a relief!
Here’s to a great Monday!

Ok, so I am taking some time to put up some photos..
I have to give the photo credit to kylee! She has grabbed some awesome shots! What a delight she is to have around. I am the oldest of the cousins on my dad’s side, and 15 years older than kylee…so we haven’t really ever spent a ton of time together. It’s so fun having her here! She is awesome, and the kids love love her.
So the boys have been super fixated on skateboarding this whole summer, and the last couple of months especially as they have taken skateboarding lessons at Desert Devils in Mesa. They just put in a whole new skate facility there… totally rocks. Anyway- about a mile from our home here is a skate park with a HUGE 8’ or 9’ ½ pipe w/ tons of vert, a small bowl, a ramp box and a chunky rail. The kids have been having a blast over there. Neither of them have ever skated on a metal ramp, so it’s taken a little getting used to. I am just going to put all these up! This definitely beats that ramp in our backyard!

(this is kylee)

now these are from yesterdy at the park:

(cory took this one of capri driving... she is loving her bracelet liz)

ok, well that's all for now. it's a beautiful day... leaving to go for a walk!

It’s almost 4am here… I guess that yesterday afternoon I totally bonked, and wouldn’t wake up for anything! I wasn’t the only one…eric and quincy were actually the only ones awake, and they went to dinner at “Annie’s” a little Italian place that is just up the road. There are some pizza’s on the counter that I am assuming is what he brought home for us for dinner. But no one woke up. We have GOT to get this day and night thing worked out! So it’s 4am, and quincy, colton and connor and I are all up hanging out.
Yesterday we got really adventurous… eric went to buy a van, and the rest of us decided to jump in couple of taxi’s and go to a big park closer to the city. I read in the ‘inside beijing’ book that there was a half-pipe in the park, so the boys were stoked. Kylee and I loaded the kids into 2 taxi’s and we headed out. The driving is a little scary! (ok really scary)- it’s kind of the ‘anything goes’ routine. But somehow… it works for them! The ride to this park was about 20 minutes or so. We got there and got all unloaded and immediately, we were surrounded by locals. They were talking really fast and pointing and laughing at us. It was totally freaky! Depsite the fact that I don’t speak Chinese (not yet), I could tell that they were saying: ‘this American lady is totally crazy…look at all those kids”. It seemed like I could see them counting! Lol. Everyone especially loves Capri and her white blonde, curly hair. She was not liking the attention. When anyone would get too close, she would cry. People would be trying to take photos of her. I wasn’t really sure how to handle it. anyway… we wandered the park for a long time. The weather was totally perfect and beautiful. We were looking for the skate park, and I kept trying to ask people about it- so I would point to the boards, and make motions like a skateboarder. Everyone I asked would look at me like I was crazy, and kind of point in a random direction. Lol.. I finally found someone that seemed to work there, and I called eric and had him talk to the person on the phone in Chinese. We were told that there was a skate park, but no one came to use it, and so they took it out. The boys were totally bummed…that is until we saw the boats. There was a pretty big (pretty green lake) that wrapped all around the park. So we rented 2 little electric boats and jumped in and cruised around for ½ hour. The kids driving the boats was scarier than the Chinese driving on the freeway (if that is possible). But we had fun. Kylee was the official photographer, so I will have to add those photos later. We played around the park for awhile…we were providing the free entertainment for everyone in the park. the boys were riding their boards, quincy roller blading and Capri (star of the show) simply crawling up and down any set of stairs she could find. When it came time to grabbing taxi’s to get back, I wasn’t really sure about where to go, so I tried asking around. One lady figured out what I was asking and demonstrated how I had to walk out into traffic, and flag a taxi down. Now since I have a phobia of being outside a cross-walk b/c of my accident in Portugal…I was a little panicy, but I was brave… stepped into this little median and held out my hand w/ a 2… (for 2 taxi’s-I made that up but it worked~!) two taxi’s pulled over, and we loaded up! I have a little sheet of paper with the address of our house written to show the drivers…and off we go! Praying all the way!
I am starting to pick up on some key words…and recognizing where we are and where we need to go to get home. So that is reassuring. We had so much fun! We were laughing all the way…
Ok, here are a couple photos.. the first is from the night before last when I was the only one up-working on my art journal… and everyone was crashed in the family room. This couch is awesome!!! This photo was taken at like 8pm. The other two photos I snapped yesterday as I blogged about Capri and Connor playing (mom- connor loves his sock-monkey quilt!)

So it’s Friday morning, and aside from another night of no-sleep… eric took Capri for a walk this morning at 3:30am… had some nice discussions with some of the guards. Found out there are 60 guards on duty at any one time inside and on the outside of our neighborhood-I feel pretty dang safe! But the guards were definitely wondering why the man of the house was up with the baby at night, and not the hired help! LOL I am sure it won’t take long for them to get to know us, and that we are NOT the norm around here. As if the 5 blonde kids isn’t indication enough.
Eric and I have both been trying to get emails answered and breakfast made and cleaned up… Capri is just wandering around playing with toys and looking at books… Connor is enjoying the toys dangling above his head, and having a wonderful conversation with them… Quincy is breaking in her new PINK in-line skates, following behind her unruly skater brothers…
Friday in Beijing: business as usual!

Ok.
Day two!
And I just finally got a shower! And it’s amazing how good that feels when you REALLY need one! Things are great here… we have managed to upack the 18 pieces of luggage that we brought… (not including the 6 carry-ons) and everything is put ‘away’. And I think I will be able to find it again. Man, we brought so much stuff, and I keep thinking of things that I need, or wish I had brought in place of all the CLOTHES. If I had it to do over again, I would do it all differently… but then again, I would never want to go through all that packing again. At least not the packing to sell the house, packing to move to another country and packing stuff I want now, and stuff I will see in a month. That whole ‘hind sight is 20/20’ gets you every time!
We have been soooo blessed on our journey! For starters, we had so much help and support getting out the door on Monday. Thanks everyone, for being there… and helping with the crunch! Cassie brought Alyssa to play w/ the kids… they all had a great time running around, jumping on the tramp and roller blading. Susan brought a big Mexican lunch, and that totally hit the spot. Shelly was in town she and Cassie helped with babies, errands and packing… anything and everything. Em of course was on hand to help with all the packing and everything… it was a MAD HOUSE. Ty and Kiley showed up to help too! It took ALL OF US to pull it all off. The biggest pain was trying to get the luggage all weighing the right amounts. We were allowed 14 pieces at 50lbs. it would cost extra for overweight and extra bags. So even down to the last minute, we were juggling stuff trying to get each bag maximized. In the end, we had 17 pieces, and at the airport, ended up having to stuff extra weight into an 18th bag. We just were happy to be there and get on the plane. We did stop at INandOUT on the way to the airport for our last meal! That was a treat I am sure we will appreciate! We were the last ones to board that plane. Early in the afternoon we got a call from United telling us that our flight from phx to LA had been cancelled. That paniced me…but then we found out we were moved to a flight at 8:45pm. That bought us an extra hour that we TOTALLY needed. So turned out to be a total blessing.
We arrived in LA around 10 and immediately hooked up with Kylee. We got all checked into our Air China flight, and had to do the security check again… that was a project! We just hung out for a bit there in the terminal and all the kids were so good. They heeleed around a bit and there were some stairs on hand for Capri to climb up and down 50 times. The flight left LA around 1:30am Tuesday morning. Everyone was super tired, and pretty much immediately fell asleep, and slept for about 7 hours. The flight was 12 hour total. The kids were soooo good. They read, and watched DVD and roamed the flight a bit. Even the babies were just so good. We were thrilled. The plane arrived here in Beijing around 5am and we cleared customs no problem, gathered all our luggage and James, David and Scott (the guys that work w/ eric) were there to pick us up w/ 2 small (too small) vans. We shoved everything in the vans, and got an extra taxi to bring us home. Eric just kept looking over at me saying, “are we really here… are we really here to move?” –so excited.
We got here to our home, and the kids came in and totally loved it. it’s a great set up. Totally perfect. Tons of room. All tile and plenty of run-around room. First thing we went to a restaurant that has ‘western’ food, and had breakfast. We walked there.. .about a mile. The kids could check out the neighborhood and see the skate park/pool and stuff like that. They were loving it. I am sure the people at the restaurant were happy when we left. The kids were pretty wound up.
We had these 2 vans for the day to help us get what we needed. Knowing what to get and what we needed was stressing me out. We sent James to the grocery store, and E and I went to Ikea for just a few essentials. We got as much unpacking done as possible… I made some quick spaghetti for dinner, and by 7o’clock the kids were seriously sleeping in their spaghetti. We all went to bed. Connor and Capri were up about 2 (for the DAY)… then quincy got up. Eric and I were still SO tired, so we turned on a movie hoping to distract them. They went back to sleep around 5am, and Colton and Cory were up at 6. I was really thankful that Kylee was here, she got up with them about 6 – got them breakfast and gave us a little while longer to sleep. I forgot how hard it is to get kids body clocks to change.
Today we have gotten everything else unpacked, and put away- need to make another trip to the store for more essential stuff… but it’s feeling more comfortable and livable.
I have just taken a shower and Capri is sleeping.. Connor is trying to sleep and Kylee has the kids at the skate park. The kids have been meeting all the neighbors. They are cruising the neighborhood on their boards. We have this ramp-style driveway that is quite steep.. so that is perfect for them! LOL. Colton is so excited about learning to speak Chinese. He keeps asking people how to say stuff, and was looking stuff up in the English/Chinese dictionary trying to figure out how to pronouce stuff. He is going to learn in a flash. We have a family w/ 4 kids next door… not the same ages, but already playing hide and seek and soccer in the neighborhood. They are home schooling as well.
Our internet is not set up yet, so we are pilfering from an unknown wireless source. But we have to stand right by the east window to get any signal.
Looking forward to our mattresses coming, but I was so tired last night, that it didn’t matter how hard the bed was!
Anyway… things are GREAT here!
we are happy, and excited- alls well!!!!
It rained last night, so the pollution was totally cleaned out and there is a beautiful blue sky!
Thanks for al the prayers and support!
Mom—we love the pillowcases… that was a fun surprise! We were so excited for that!
I am attaching our new family photo that we had taken right before we left (Sunday) on our beautifully manicured grass!!!

my email won't go out... so annoying! hoping we'll get that figured out...
i will try to be a better blogger... we are going to go out to a big park today... will have to try to post some pics later!

I have been a bad blogger.
We board a plane in a mere 3 days and there is STILL so much left to do. My house is seriously out of control. Tons of boxes. Tons of suitcases and bags and piles here and there representing all the different categories that need to be dealt with: garbage, donations and packing. There are so many tiny details that I have to tie up. And I am sure I am forgetting more than I am remembering!
But… I thought I should post quick because I will be making a visit tonight to the Scrapbook Barn here in Gilbert:

I am finally coming up for air! Creative Escape 2007 is over, and was a wonderful, delightful and fabulous weekend! The second annual CE was held the 6-8th at the Squaw Peak Hilton here in sunny Phoenix, AZ! i didn't take NEAR enough photos... i get so DISTRACTED!! i wish i had more photos to document every little detail! We were joined by over 600 very enthusiastic scrapbookers, and over 50 staff members and volunteers… put that all together and there was a lot of PINK, sparkles and flip flops…
big pink scrapbook totes, tons of adhesive, cold drinks and smiles! We had so much fuN! This being the 2nd CE, we benefited so much from last year’s experiences… things seemed to go SO much smoother! There were of course a few little unexpected surprises…but all said and done… it was so awesome!! Any event has soooo many people working together to make things happen. For us… I have to give a huge thanks and cyber hug to the BAZZILL team. Doug Jones (who is the owner of Bazzill) is the most kind, considerate, positive and genuine guy! Working with him, his family, and his staff (which can be almost considered family!) is such a blessing. In the midst of the final month of preparations for CE, they consolidated their operation from 3 large warehouses to ONE very large warehouse, as if preparing for CE wasn’t enough… Bazzill has a reputation of quality and commitment to the industry, and that attitude reflects in everything they do… especially CE. And of course, no one has any idea how much time, effort, worry, stress and dedication that EMILY put into this event. She settles for nothing less than ‘just right’ on anything. She never ceases to amaze me with her ‘get it done’ attitude. She is always willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how hot, how late or how long it takes! THANKS EM… I must thank the teachers this year who were so awesome! Not just this year’s teachers, but we brought back the teachers from last year for a pretty intense Friday night event, and they rocked it! and also… Allison Tyler Jones who delivered such an inspiring and touching keynote presentation… you were laughing as hard as you were crying. It was unforgettable!

If you weren’t there with us… I will give you the run down!
Thursday was the beginning… we got there early in the morning to start setting up for registration and what we call “technique boutique”. Registration would begin at 1pm along with technique boutique and go until 6pm. Carol Niemyski is the COO at Bazzill, puts together a special team for registration. This year upon registration, each guest received a (EXTREMELY CUTE) pink creative escape bag, along with her very own “project portfolio and inspiration guide to Creative Escape”… a full on, full color, spiral bound, 123 page book that included all the classes, instructions, fully stepped out… as well as the technique boutique guide, and all the projects from the Friday Night Extravaganza! As well as a special section we call “trunk show” where we showcase projects from each teacher, to give a little insight into her creative genius! Also, when they registered they got the cutest pink and green beaded lanyard for their name badge. Turned out so cute. The only draw back during registration was that the room we were in was about a million degrees. I kept telling people that it was a ‘warm welcome’… Doug and I were greeting everyone and sweating our guts out! Technique Boutique is a way for us to introduce the CE guests to the sponsors, and teach a few valuable techniques that will be needed in class. We had a bunch of ‘exclusive’ products that were available at a little mini-store: mug, visor, waterbottles, t-shirts, CE paper packs, journals, etc… we had a photo booth where we were taking photos, and Epson was printing them off… we had a special project that everyone could gather the supplies for and complete on their own… there were so many gifts from our awesome sponsors: purple cow gave everyone their own ‘freestyle trimmer’; big picture was there giving a little mini-project away designed by Tena Sprenger. Scrapbook Adhesive by 3L was available to all… and then we were playing with Distress Ink, new Bazzill “in Stitch’z”, and everyone got a jump on Rhonna’s 21-day challenge journal. And even more stuff… at 4pm, we started the “trunk show”… and this was my favorite part of the whole weekend. I guess because it totally shocked and amazed me. We asked each teacher to bring a few things to display from 4-6pm so we could give people a chance to meet the teachers and get a glimpse of what their style is… nothing could have prepared me for how OVER THE TOP each of the teachers were.
Jen Wagner, for example, brought in an 8 foot wall that she had painted and hung pictures on, as well as bringing furniture from home to display her beautiful pieces. Lesli Spafford brought a COOKIE for everyone, and made tons of cookies, cakes and cupcakes to decorate her table, along with huge jars of candy. It was stunning… and next to her, there was Tracey pulling out twinkling lights to string along her table… to say nothing of her beautiful pieces! Then there was Chris who was teaching the Soldering. She had made this STUNNING chandelier.
Now I knew that she was bringing it, but I was amazed at how cool it looked in real life. so inspiring! Heidi Lynn had these HUGE poster size layouts and topiaries made of Bazzill paper… and I was lucky enough to look through each of Rhonna’s journals and just ooh and aaahh at her work. Then there was me, who really just brought a few things to spread out on a table. I was COMPLETELY out done in every way! –and I loved it. the room was far too small and the time too short for everyone to adequately enjoy all the inspiration that room had to offer. Stunning.
We then kicked the evening off with a short welcome. We didn’t want thurs to be too late because the east coast ladies were already tired! We wanted everyone to be fresh in the morning…as we were preparing our little intro to the event, we thought it would be fun to calculate how much went into the event: 50,000 kits 75,000 sheets of paper 25,000 yards of ribbon 81,000 buttons and brads 92,000 die cuts 23,000 flowers 12,000 signature buttons (event buttons) 16,000 playing cards …………YIKES!!Friday morning started off with YUMMY breakfast burritos. (this year the food was SO good…) WE had 2 classes before lunch and 2 after.

Chris Randall taught a soldering class…most people it was their first time ever… so it was just meant to be an ‘introduction’ to soldering. I loved seeing people’s charms as they came into my class. What a FUN thing to play with. I am totally addicted. Simply Swank sponsored her class… they are a new company and they have PINK soldering irons… LOVE THAT!Jennifer Wagner taught a class that created a little book in a purse. It was so cute, and she is an awesome teacher. She had beautiful samples to share. Creative Imaginations donated the purse and book…so generous! Jack was even on hand at the event. I taught a canvas class… and Donna from Canvas Concepts gave not one, but 2 canvases to each person! We created a memory board and used Tim’s Distress ink on the canvas… LOVE that stuff. Tracey Niehues taught the most clever little folder-thingy… she is the coolest girl. She is super mellow and down-to-earth. She is an awesome, systematic teacher. I have known her for a long time- she teaches and designs for K&Co. (They sent so many prizes and stuff to give away as well)… she is just a class act! Lesli Spafford is the resident ‘card’ instructor at Scrapbooks ETC. everyone loves her cards… she is known for clever, cute little folds and unexpected twists… these cards were no exception. They are cards that can be whipped up in a second, but totally impress! I especially love the box-fold one… that has to be my fav.Heidi Lynn Schreiber is the power scrapper of the bunch! She has a knack of making scrapbooking quick, simple and do-able for anyone! She did a calendar class, using one of my calendars. In class they made 5 layouts, and the book contained the other 7 pages that could be re-produced later…(or you could buy the kits too). What a great idea for a Christmas gift…a full calendar! Rhonna Farrer taught her signature “21-day challenge” class. We created an 8x8 book that was exclusive for the class, and used her line if paper and stamps… she even designed rub-on quotes for each of the 21 days… they came in a fabulous tin and were so beautiful! I must say, that I started the 21-day challenge… and LOVED doing it. I LOVED having a book already to go, and adding creativity to it every day documenting my challenge. So inspiring. She couldn’t be any cuter, or sweeter. And I LOVE her papers…thanks Jeff and Autumn Leaves… you were great to work with.

Our goal is to create an event that is well-rounded. That is nicely paced, and has a wide variety of classes… last year, we had 8 classes- 6 were project classes, and 2 were lecture classes (photography and computer skills). This year…we felt that people needed a little R e L a x a T I o N in there as well… so we had 7 classes, but they were all projects. The classes were all paced a little different. Some super intense, some mellow… it’s all part of balancing it out. The sponsors and teachers were all so generous with donations and time and effort. I am so appreciative for all they put into making CE great! Kelli Collins and Amy Tottie were our “whoo-hoo” girls and delivered RAKS all weekend-with the help of Haylee Jones…(I am still hearing that whoo-hoo in my sleep!)

Friday night we did totally different this year. After dinner, which was a YUM Mexican buffet…we had the ‘Friday Night Extravaganza’… We wanted to bring in the teachers from last year and have a little fun! I have this favorite book: “EVER WONDER” (it’s a compendium book)… and it’s just a book of questions. Each teacher chose 2 questions, and designed 2 playing cards. We made a kit with all 16 playing cards. All the groups of students were assigned to a room, and from 8pm until about 11pm, the teachers each had 15 minutes with each class to re-create their cards. Some they did both, some they only had time for one. It was a little intense! But it went very smoothly and we had a blast. I tell you, by the end of Friday, my voice was almost gone. I had been teaching for about 12 hours. BuT I LOVE LOVE the playing cards, and most people didn’t really know what they were for (to play with) and we had a great time… so fun to have Stacy Julian, Carol Wingert, Hottie Amy Tottie, Tena Sprenger, Pam Black, Kelli Collins and Marty Jones (and honorary alumni teacher!) I already have a cool idea for the Friday Night Extravaganza for next year.

Saturday morning served up another yummy breakfast. And I actually went down to the buffet and everything. ( I am usually not up early enough for that luxury). The buffet was served outside in the courtyard, and the temperature was so perfect. it’s so nice in the mornings! The day went smoothly.. and about 1pm the flower arranging for the Sat. night dinner began behind the scenes… Mona, Frani, Janet and Em put together the 60 center pieces with 12 gerber daisies in each. When I walked into the room I was so thrilled at how beautiful it looked in there. there is definitely something about fresh flowers. we had such a yummy dinner…of course, served with dessert first. We tested about 6 different desserts, and this one was the best! Dinner was delish… chicken breast and these yummy potatoes, carrots and asparagus. The real treat was Allison. After we gave LOTS of amazingly fabulous gift baskets away… we had a slide show of everyone and Doug shared his scrapbooking poem. SO cute. Doug’s oldest son and his wife just had a baby… the first bazzill grandbaby…so he factored that into the poem! Then we heard from Allison Tyler Jones. We asked her to be our keynote speaker after the even last year. I was so touched and inspired by her words. She is one that can make you laugh and cry all at the same time. her presentation had just the right mix of inspiring words and photos. it was just absolutely fabulous! I love and admire her so much! I have to admit to being happy it was over, and that everything went GREAT!! I am so grateful for EVERYONE involved… from the hotel staff, to the volunteers… to all who attended. We had a great group. I smile just thinking about it! I was given so many kind, thoughtful gifts and sweet cards. The women at the event were so thankful and so excited! It’s so fun when your efforts are truly appreciated! Of course, I have already started thinking about my class project for next year!Thanks to everyone… see you next year!!these amazing charm bracelets were made by the yahoo group... they were so generous to give one to each teacher... i love it! so cool.